Perpetual Effort
by Dark Syntax
Summary: Eggman's on the move but something is different. With most of his friend's captured it up to Sonic and those left to do what they do best. But with the doc acting differently...things are taken to whole new level. Serious Action, romance, & plot. R&R!
1. Act 1 Dash 1 Robotropolis Zone

Author's Comments:

Been rather rusty and I haven't written for a while so please forgive any mistake you happen to find. This story is primarily about Sonic and the gang with some rather dark undertones once I get into the swing of things. I hope the intro isn't too confusing as I tried to clarify as much as I could without compromising the story. The summary should help make things clear for everyone however. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story. -Dark

* * *

><p><span>-Summary-<span>

A week prior to these events, Sonic having defeated Dr. Eggman awhile back is enjoying a period of peace in the land of Mobius. Eggman's base of operations Robotropolis had been reduced to ruins and the citizens of the city of Mobotropolis were happily enjoying their care free lives. Few eyebrows were raised when Miles 'Tails' Prower went missing. People, Sonic included, brushed it off as the young fox spreading his wings and going on his own adventures. When Knuckles disappeared a couple of days later however, suspicions were raised and everyone was sure Dr. Eggman was probably behind it. Checking the ruins of Robotropolis Sonic found little indication that Eggman had been up to anything prompting him to scout Mobius' borders in hopes of finding some answers as to what was going on. In his absence the capital of Mobius, Mobotropolis was suddenly attacked by Eggman capturing all but a few Mobians. Sonic returning to the empty city a few days later one late afternoon met one of these survivors and was told a recount of how the invaders had came and departed to the east. Nothing was eastbound... except Robotropolis. Informed of the present situation Sonic sped eastward intent on freeing those captured and taking down the ever 'good' Doctor once again.

* * *

><p><em><em><span>-A Grassy Hilltop overlooking New Robotropolis several miles outside its outskirts-<span>__

_-_Time_: 10:54:12PM-_

"No way…" Sonic voiced quietly to himself in disbelief as he laid flat along the grassy ground of the hill hidden by some bushes. He peeked beyond the bush his concealed him out towards what was once the ruins of Eggman's last lair. This clearly wasn't the case anymore however as the ruins were gone and in its stead was a metal megalopolis that seemed to span for miles.

"It's big isn't it…?"

"Yeah…hard to believe Eggman did this all in a few days…" Sonic replied casually before pausing for a second and actually taking a second to wonder who exactly he was talking to. Quickly turning his head towards his right, Sonic couldn't suppress his palm from going to his face as he was greeted with the sight of an all too familiar pink hedgehog lying right beside him.

"Amy!" Sonic yelled in a hushed whisper as he stared at the woman in disbelief that she was actually here. "What in the world are you doing here!"

"Well…" Amy began shyly as she turned her eyes away from Sonic for a second before glancing back upwards towards him. "I was…waiting for you."

"…" Sonic's expression remained neutral as he said nothing to the girl's innocent reply for a second before sighing softly and performing his second facepalm of the night. "Look Amy. I don't have time to play games with you right now."

"But I'm not here to play games! I'm here to help you!" Amy countered with a determined look on her face.

"Ummm...alright…." Sonic said slowly as he wondered exactly how he make the girl understand that what he was about to do was, to put it bluntly, dangerous. "….Well do you want to know how you can help me the most?" Sonic asked seriously as he stared into the girl's emerald eyes.

"How…?" Amy asked earnestly as she melted under Sonic's gaze.

"Go home." Sonic said flatly before standing up and walking out towards the robotic city. The blue hedgehog took less than two steps thought before Amy's hands firmly grabbed his right hand effectively stopping him in place.

"I'm not going home Sonic!" Amy declared definitively as her grip tightened around Sonic's hand. "I'm going to follow you whether you like it or not Sonic! Because I um…because I…I-"

Before Amy could get the words out, Sonic quickly spun around and with his free hand softly pressed a gloved finger on Amy's lips. "Because you look up to me right?" Sonic said understandingly finishing the girl's sentence for her so that she didn't have to. "But…even if that's the case. I still can't let you follow me in good conscience Amy."

Needless to say, upon hearing those words come out his mouth, Amy's expression fell and her eyes slowly lowered themselves to the grounds. In the following moments that he spoke, Amy zoned out and couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to get her feelings across to the blue hedgehog that ironically stood but inches away yet seemed to be miles from her. Honestly speaking, she didn't just like him. She loved him. She'd always wanted to tell him it but it was always times like these that reminded her that he probably only thought of her as a nuisance. One that he probably just wanted out of his hair…

And so if that was the case…

Maybe it was better if she just went back to the shelter…

…

"So instead, just stay right beside, alright?" Sonic said in his usual confident voice as he shot the girl one of his trademark grins. Although Amy hadn't caught anything he said prior to his last sentence, it was more than enough to make the pink hedgehog stare wide eyed at the blue blur in front of her.

"Wait what?" Amy asked somewhat confused wondering exactly how it had come to this. He was going to let her tag along!

"Didn't you say you say that you would follow me no matter what right? So if that's the case, it'd be better if you stick close to me. It'll be easier to protect you that way." Sonic said simply as he rotated his hand in the girl's grasp, took her left hand into his own, and tightened his own grip around her hand.

"I hope you're ready." Sonic said casually with a huge smirk as he turned back around towards their destination.

"No! Wait Sonic! I'M NOT READY!"

"Cause. Here. We. GO!"

And on that mark Sonic began to speed down the hill with Amy in hand.

Course, the speed at which they ran wasn't anything close to his maximum. Hell, the speed wasn't even close to Amy's. Yet it was a good pace for the both of them and made Amy smile on the inside at that fact that Sonic took her presence into consideration. At this point, it didn't even matter that Sonic didn't care for her in the same sense that she did…She only wished that this moment where they ran in the middle of the grassy plains lit only by the moonlight could last forever.

* * *

><p><em>-The Shelter: The Last refuge for the <em>Mobians_-_

_-_Time:_ 11:24:12PM-_

With arms folded across his chest, Espio leaned with his left shoulder against the dirt wall and his head turned towards the left looking out one of the few windows their last sanctuary had. If the mole family hadn't been so kind as to take them in well….that was a prospect he didn't want to think about. The Mole family, being rather big and all, said they had rooms to spare but upon closer inspection of their tunnels, their home was more like a labyrinth. Their tunnels twisted every which way and seemed to stretch for an eternity. This made setting up camp there rather easy. With space in no short supply the only thing he really had to worry about was security.

He let out a small sigh as he watched a light drizzle start up outside.

It was hard to believe that it had come to this. First Tails disappeared. Then Knuckles soon after. No one thought it to be all that peculiar either since Eggman hadn't reared his ugly head since the last time they defeated him. Hell the only thing that remained from their last encounter with him was the ruins of his base. Robotropolis. Sonic had gone and verified this face the moment knuckles had gone missing and once it was verified that they were untouched, he'd heard that Sonic had set out to check around the borders of Mobius for maybe a clue as to what was going on.

Unfortunately, Eggman was probably waiting for this or at least that's what Espio suspected. Course he didn't have any evidence to support his suspicions but he didn't think it was just a mere coincidence for hundreds of giant Eggman robots to suddenly appear in Mobotropolis the day after Sonic set out. No. The attack had definitely been planned. The chaos that ensued in the streets lasted for but only a few hours. Proof enough that it'd been well thought out considering the city's huge population….

Something wasn't right about this whole thing though. Don't get him wrong, an attack by Eggman wasn't uncommon, but waiting for Sonic to be out of the picture before attacking? That just didn't seem right. Eggman had a track record of challenging his quick blue nemesis head on… yet this time he didn't. Of course, Espio did consider the fact that he was over thinking things a bit much but honestly he just couldn't shake this bad feeling he had about all this…

"Hey! Espio!" Espio's eyes glanced towards his right as he saw a chipper little bee fly towards him.

"Done already Charmy?" Espio asked calmly as he diverted his eyes back towards the dreary sight outside.

"Yeah! And it's like everyone said!" Charmy's excited voice began before tapering off at the end. "It's back…."

"….Mmm." Espio hummed somewhat thoughtfully. "Thanks."

"No problem! That's what I'm here for!" Charmy cheerfully replied obviously proud of his work before turning around and zipping away to places unknown.

"Charmy." Espio called out before the bee before he got out of ear range.

"Yeah?" Charmy replied as he turned back to look at the magenta chameleon.

"Don't wander around too long. Your recon shift begins in a few hours, alright?" Reminded Espio before looking back out towards the glass.

"Alright…." Charmy whined knowing there was no use arguing before slowly flying away without the pep that used to be in his step. Espio wanted to let the little bee rest, but with few allies around that he could rely on, he had little choice. Staring back out towards the dark landscape, Espio wondered how Sonic was fairing. After Sonic had informed him that he hadn't found a trace of Eggman at the ruins of Robotropolis he hadn't seen the blue hedgehog since. He couldn't help but wonder whether the guy had somehow been captured or taken out. Course, idle speculation wasn't going to get him anywhere. If anything he was better off wondering about the reemergence of Robotropolis. Espio was positive it hadn't been there a few days ago yet poof; just like magic apparently it was rebuilt.

Letting out another sigh, Espio slowly closed his eyes as he wondered what in the world he was going to do. Without almost everyone out of commission and Sonic MIA (Missing in Action) the situation was looking rather dire.

"Dammit….." Espio voiced quietly as the rain began to come down even harder outside. "What the hell should I to do Vector…?"

* * *

><p><em>-Somewhere in New Robotropolis-<em>

_-Holding Cell Number: X213-_

_-_Time_: 11:25:01PM-_

"Ugh…"

_'How many times had I been drugged…?'_

As the room slowly spun into perspective, Knuckles slowly raised both his heavy eyes and head upwards. He slowly glanced around the empty cell he'd been held in for the last few days as he jiggled his arms in front of him reaffirming the huge metal brace binding his wrists all the way to his hands to one another. Normally he'd be able to smash such a feeble binding against the floor or something but considering he was barely coherent enough to hold his head up….well it wasn't really possible.

"Oh! So you're finally awake sleepy head." Called a sweet voice from outside the bars of his small cell.

Knuckles slowly turned his head towards the direction of the voice as his eyes attempted to focus on the dark shadowy blur that the hallway lights behind her caused. Honestly though, it would be hard for anyone to mistake the woman's shadowy figure or her sultry voice. Hell, even without both his sight and hearing in tip-top shape knuckles could smell the sweet bat's perfume emanating off her body and that alone was enough inform him of the woman's identity.

"Rouge….." Knuckles voiced quietly as he struggled to remain above the waves of unconsciousness.

"Bingo!" Rouge happily replied giving the bound Echidna a sweet little smile.

"Wh-…what are you doing here….?" Knuckles asked unable to tell whose team she was playing for this time. Considering the number of times she'd flipped-flopped before, he could never really tell when she was friend or foe.

"Just checking up on my favorite red Echidna, that's all." Rouge said teasingly before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a little golden key. Knuckles noticed the object's shape and couldn't help but instantly perk up once he saw its gleam.

"Aww…..?" Rouge voiced as she tilted her head to the side all too sweetly before continuing? "You look like you want this little ol' key here…."

"Do you want it Knuckles….?" Rouge asked innocently as she slipped her ring finger through the hole it had in its handle and begun to playfully twirl it around her finger. Knuckles' eyes remained locked on key that spun around her finger and shot the woman an angry glare wondering how long she was going to keep up this game with him.

"Aw comon…" Rouge whined playful as she suddenly stopped spinning the key and used it to unlock the door to his cell.

"If you look at me so angrily…." Rouge began as she slowly approached the defenseless Echidna who sat on the side of a small bed with his back resting against the cell's wall. "You'll start to make me feel bad…." And on that note the mischievous bat softly cupped Knuckles' right cheek with her free left hand.

Knuckles' eyes shook unsteadily but this was the most coherent he had been in days. He dismissed the woman's soft touch yet couldn't hide the growing redness in his cheeks as he stared into the bat's hypnotic eyes. He couldn't give in now though. If he did he'd just be doing exactly what she wanted him to. Not that there was anything wrong with that but he needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Who knew when he'd fall back under and if he did who knew when he'd wake up? He needed to escape now and that meant he couldn't give in to her advances. And so with that renewed mentality, Knuckles summoned up the firmest voice he could muster before finally telling her. "Rouge. Release me."

Rouge paused in her advance as she seemed generally hurt this time that Knuckles hadn't given in and pouted slightly before standing back upright and folding her arms under her impressive chest. "And why should I if you're simply going to take that sort of attitude with me." Rouge commented pointedly as she turned her head away slightly.

"….." Knuckles didn't like where this was heading since his pride warned him that it was in danger of being hurt, but considering she was his best chances of getting out of here….he really had no other choice. "…..Please Rouge. Can you please release me?"

A small smile found itself on the lips of the bat as her sour expression lighted slightly. "How about saying 'Pretty please Rouge with sugar on top'? Rouge teased.

"….No."

"Comon Knuckles." Rouge said in an attempt to egg him on.

"No." Knuckles replied stubbornly feeling a slight rush of adrenaline at the prospect of freedom. "Even if I do say it there's no guarantee that you'll let me out is there?"

"No." Rouge replied almost immediately with her impish little smile still in place. "But isn't that what makes it fun?"

_'Yeah…for you maybe.'_ Knuckles thought angrily to himself.

"Well how about this then." Rouge propositioned. "You promise to give me the Master Emerald and…I'll help you get out of here."

"You know I can't do that." Knuckles said plainly without even giving the idea a second of thought.

"Awww comon! A rock that big is wasted on you! It'd be better if it was with someone who appreciated its true value. Someone…you know… like me." Rouge reasoned to the man as she placed a hand on her chest to emphasis her point. Knuckles however remained silent to the woman's goading definitively letting her know that his decision was final. Unfortunately, even if he'd wanted to give it to her, his duty as the Emerald's Guardian made him unable to do so. He didn't need to explain it to her. She already knew.

Rouge noticing the Echidna's stonewall-esque attitude caused the woman to sigh softly and to once again start twirling the key around her finger. She didn't want it to end this way but seeing as how there was no reasoning with him…well. It was inevitable. "You know Knuckles…"

"I really wanted to let you go. Really I did. But a girl can't work for nothing sweetie. That's just not how the world works."

Knuckles sort of had a feeling things would come to this and slowly felt the vigor from his chance at freedom subsiding back from whence it came. He slowly closed his eyes and felt the waves of unconsciousness slowly begin to rise and almost let himself slip back under it until suddenly a soft and slightly moist pressure was pressed onto his forehead. His eyes snapped open as quickly as they could as he saw a cute smiling bat moving to stand back upright in front of him

"I'm sorry we couldn't reach an agreement Knuckles." Rouge said somewhat regretfully as she slowly began to make her way back towards the door to her right. Once outside the cell, Rouge locked his cell and took a short step back. Instead of pocketing the key though, Rouge tossed the key into the cell and turned to walk away.

"Think of it as a freebie." Rouge called out to him as she walked away. "Don't ever expect another one though."

Knuckles' eyes drifted towards the key that had clattered loudly on his floor and now lay but a couple of feet away from his bed. He chuckled to himself slightly before shaking his head slowly at the sheer joke of situation this was.

"Freebie or not..." Knuckles began quietly to himself before suddenly yelling out the next part towards the bat who was probably still without ear range. "How the hell am I supposed to unlock myself without the use of my hands!"

_'Your problem. Not mine.'_ Rouge thought to herself as she chuckled slightly and continued walking down the corridor.


	2. Act 1 Dash 2 Robotropolis Zone

_- Somewhere In New Robotropolis -_

_- Robotropolis Tower -_

_-_Time_: 11:29:10PM-_

Robotropolis Tower. The tallest building inside the city. It itself wasn't anything all that special. It's only purpose in the city was to stand tall as a testament to both the city's powers and achievements. Shadow, however, was using it quite differently. The recluse hedgehog stood at the very top of the tower scanning the entire view of the city that the tower afforded him. Even though the rain mixed with the wind made the environment rather unwelcoming, his expression was as it always was; one that bordered between looking somewhat annoyed and slightly indifferent making knowing exactly what he was actually thinking practically impossible. His sharp red eyes scanned the bustling mechanized city below both slowly and meticulously as the rain continued to pour down on him.

He stood silently at the top of the tower for about five minutes until suddenly the peace of the robotic city was suddenly broken by a loud siren. Shadow eyes perked up as the sirens hit his ears and chuckled slightly as the searchlights of the city all went in quick succession. Shadow remained still as all the beams of light were eventually turned onto his position one by one. Following that it didn't take long for Eggman's drones to fill the sky.

"….Twenty three….twenty four….twenty five. Really…?" Shadow wondered out loud as the drones began to spread out and surround him around the top of the tower.

"Scanning…..scanning….." Voiced the metallic drone that approached to his left. "Life form identified. Shadow the Hedgehog. Threat level: Moderate. Exercising Caution is advised." Upon hearing the robot's assessment, Shadow slowly turned his head towards it and raised a brow.

"You are surrounded Shadow." The robot spoke in his electronic voice. "Resistance is pointless. You are outnumbered and outmatched. Surrender now or be destroyed."

"It seems like I'm being greatly underestimated…" Shadow said bluntly as he unfolded his arms. "Just who in the world do you think I am…?"

The robot wouldn't have time to answer though as Shadow suddenly disappeared from his sights compliments of his nearly unparalleled speed. All of a sudden without warning, the robot would be sent flying straight into one of his companions as a result of Shadow's kick to the side of its head. Shadow wasted little time patting himself on the back and instantly honed in on the next closest enemy. The black hedgehog's attack went straight through the bot promptly causing it to explode and himself to be propelled away from the twenty some-odd drones that, by this time, began to open fire on him.

They wouldn't get off more than a dozen shots though as a black hedgehog spun himself counterclockwise and, with his left hand, lashed out a powerful energy orb at the pursuing bots simultaneously yelling. "Chaos BLAST!"

The orb, which was launched right in the center of the pursuing group, caught more than a good half of them and if you'd been watching, you might've called the handful that dodged the blast lucky. Fortunate even. Unfortunately for the drones however, their opponent was one who liked to live up to his reputation. And what reputation was that might you ask? Well it was the one with him being the ultimate life form.

**BOOOOOOOOOOM**

Shadow had long turned his back of the robots who had been pursuing him and didn't even bother looking back to make sure all of them had been destroyed. Two seconds after he'd launched the blast and turned around the sky behind was lit in a yellow radiance as an explosion ripped through the night sky. Shadow, still free falling towards the ground now slightly faster due to the force of the blast behind him, suddenly glanced left as a huge stadium-like building suddenly became illuminated in the distance.

"How nice of them to light the way." Shadow remarked smugly as he reached into his pocket for a second almost instantly finding what he'd been looking for. "And here I was beginning to wonder where I should go next."

The ground grew ever closer to the black hedgehog whose calm demeanor continued to remain unbroken. The crimson eye fighter's descent rate seemed unreal at this point as he zipped right in between the gaps of two large buildings. If it was anyone else, they were probably as good as dead. This wasn't just anyone else though. This was Shadow the Hedgehog.

The robots in the area that saw the intruder's descent into the alleyway all converged on the man's position to verify his survival. When they arrived and surrounded the place however, not a trace of the hedgehog could be found anywhere in or around the alley. The only indication that the robots had that he'd even been there was but a small dying echoing voice repeating but a single phrase. "…Chaos control."

* * *

><p><em><span>- Somewhere In New Robotropolis -<span>_

_- Robotropolis Streets -_

_- (Several Minutes Prior to City going on Full Alert) -_

_-_Time:_ 11:30:56PM-_

…This was a lot harder than he anticipated. With his back to the wall, Sonic held Amy in his arms close against his chest as the two of them hid behind a wall in a dead end. Their hiding spot didn't stop the two from getting rained upon. Unfortunately, they weren't that lucky. The wall that jutted out from the side of the building went out about just a foot affording the two, thankfully, just enough cover to hide. If one would've glanced into the alleyway it would've appeared empty. That however didn't change the fact that at the entrance way to the alleyway was one of Eggman's humanoid bots. Why he stopped here, Sonic was unsure of, but he sure hoped the bot would simply turn around and walk away. Hope only went so far though.

The robot's footsteps echoed louder and louder in the small alleyway as he approached the two hidden hedgehogs. As his footsteps grew louder, Amy's trembling seemed to intensify. Thanks to their immediate proximity and the rain, Sonic had little trouble feeling Amy's movements OR body but if she wasn't this close to him, there was a chance the bot might see them. Granted, he didn't doubt his ability to dispatch any of Eggman's creations but given that Amy was with him…

_'...WHAT THE!'_

Sonic was suddenly ripped from his thoughts as the girl's arms around his waist began to squeeze him even harder. Sonic glanced down at the young pink hedgehog shooting her a reassuring smile until he realized that something of the girl's was pressing up against his chest when it definitely shouldn't have been. Sonic loosened his hold on the girl slightly as he tried to force himself to think about something else but Amy's response to this action was pressing her body even harder against his.

_'Dammit Amy!'_ Sonic yelled mentally while trying to focus his attention on the robot approaching. _'You need to consider the guy you're with when you do something like this!'_

Needless to say, Sonic wasn't the type of guy who took advantage of innocent girls. He often did things by the books and tried to live his life properly in all aspects. Yet…that was kind of hard to stand by when a girl was pressing her soft, wet chest against you! That wasn't even the worst part though! The worst part about this situation was the fact that the girl in question was the 'Innocent Type' meaning that she herself probably wasn't aware of the effect her actions had on guys! Well actually, he couldn't say that THAT was the worst part. The worst part probably had to be the fact that they were on the verge of being discovered and slaughtered by an army of robots WHILE he was developing a hard-on for her.

…Yeaaaaah. That was probably the worst part…which was why you probably wouldn't believe how much of a relief it came to Sonic when the robot's footsteps began to gradually retreat. Dropping his hands instantly from around the girl's waist and placing them on her shoulders, Sonic distanced the girl, who'd been snuggling up against him, quickly breathing a small sigh of relief in doing so. The quick action caught Amy by surprise though and had her nose tickled by the small hairs of fur on Sonic's shoulders which she'd been resting against. Because of this, the small pink hedgehog began to wind up backwards as a mounting sneeze began to grow. Sonic, unfortunately though, didn't notice this however as he was peeking out from their hiding spot looking to make sure that the close was clear.

"Ahh…Ahhhhh…AHHHHHHCOOOOO!"

The girl's loud sneeze, caused Sonic to turn around slowly and deliberately with an expression on his face that asked the girl _'Are you serious...'_? The girl, in turn, replied with a cutesy little smile that said _'Sorry.'_ before Sonic sighed and looked back at the entrance of the alleyway which now had ten some-odd robots barring the way, all with blasters pointed directly at them.

_'Wonderful'_ Sonic thought sarcastically as he looked at the opposition. He wasted little time complaining how the situation developed though. Taking Amy's hand in his own, Sonic let out a small sigh before the two of them sped out from their hiding spot straight into their enemies. Right as they did so, the siren for the entire base began to howl alerting all who didn't know that they had some unexpected intruders late this evening.

* * *

><p><em><span>- Somewhere In New Robotropolis -<span>_

_- Robotropolis Tunnels -_

_-_Time:_ 11:35:56PM-_

Something was up.

From the moment they were identified not a single shot was fired at two. Well actually it was more correct to say not one was fired with the intent to kill. Their escape from the alleyway had been beyond easy as the bots practically let them go, but once they were out on the streets they were pretty much forced to head into the tunnels. Once inside, a huge metal door closed behind them. This disturbed them but didn't stop them as continued to quickly run though the tunnels. As they traveled farther and farther they came across several four way intersections all with metal doors baring all but a single path. Once they traveled far enough past an intersection the two of them could always hear another metal door closing behind them reinforcing the idea that there was only one way to go from here. Retreat was not an option.

Several intersections and a few minutes later the two walked out into a huge darkened area. A few small lights swung from the top of what seemed like an immense structure as Amy and Sonic stepped out from the tunnels and carefully moved towards the center which was lit. Suddenly the ground shook and the lights above the two swayed as a huge explosion rocked the area.

"Sonic!" Amy cried as she instantly clung onto to the blue blur.

Sonic stood ready on his guard as the ground eventually settled down and the lights grew steady. Neither of the two really had time to wonder as to what the explosion was though as a huge metal door suddenly fell down behind them barring retreat back into the tunnels from whence they came. Sonic's head snapped impulsively backwards as he glanced at the door before he suddenly threw his hand in front of his eyes to block the sudden illumination of the stadium. Cheers suddenly rang out from the stands as sonic took in his surroundings. A Dirt ground, huge metallic walls stretching probably fifteen to twenty feet high, and stands upon stands resting on said twenty foot walls. Nothing really stood out here. Well nothing aside from the huge metallic door where this arena's 'lion' probably slept. If Sonic had to say, this was probably more of a coliseum than a stadium.

"WELCOME SONIC! We've been waiting for you…" Rang out a voice whose identity was undoubtedly known.

"Eggman."

"How do you like it?" Eggman's voice asked from the thousands of speakers that were rigged up in this place.

"Like what?" Sonic asked in turn still standing on guard wondering what trick Eggman had planned up his sleeve this time.

"Why…My city of course~! You'd be surprised how many painstaking hours went into rebuilding it all. ALL BECAUSE OF ONE SINGLE HEDGEHOG!" Eggman began casually before angrily yelling at the blue hedgehog.

"Heh. Well you know me Doc." Sonic replied with a light shrug and a confident smirk.

"Oh how true you are Sonic. You're right. I do know you." Eggman replied rather agreeably obviously building up towards whatever grand finish he wanted to make. "Which is why, in my absence, I've had a long long long long time to think about in what way I should kill you."

"And…this is the best you could come up with?" Sonic asked sarcastically with his hands in front of him motioning towards the thousands of robots in the stands.

"Noooo no no no…" Eggman replied in a sing song voice as a door ten times more massive than the one they stepped through began to open on the opposite side of the arena.

"THIS IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH! THE 'EGG-BLITERATOR'!" And on that note, out rolled a huge Mecha who, from the torso down, had about eight legs all with rotatable wheels on each one. And from his torso up the massive mecha was humanoid in the sense that it had a body, two arms, and a head. Just like normal ya know? Still though, with a mecha that size…fighting it was probably going to be tough. Still though, the bigger they are the harder they fall.

"uh-uh-uh..." Amy repeated in a panicky voice as the towering machine began to move towards them. Sonic on the other hand didn't seem to be worried. He'd taken down bigger bad guys before. This one was no exception.

"Amy, don't worry bout this. I got it." Sonic told the girl confidently pulling himself out of her hold and stepping out towards the huge mechanized monster. "Just stay back and let me handle this alright?" Sonic told her reassuringly like he always did. Before jetting towards the bot and doing the thing he did best, Sonic turned around and gave the girl one of his trademark smiles and a small thumb's up letting her know that it was going to be alright. She returned his smile and blinked only to see the blue hedgehog gone in a flash.

* * *

><p><em><span>- Somewhere In New Robotropolis -<span>_

_- Robotropolis Coliseum -_

_-_Time_: 11:38:56PM-_

Saying that he had this was easier said than done.

As he had sped straight towards the robot, Sonic watched as the bot's right hand began to morph and change into a cannon. Even with the cannon though, it was useless if it couldn't hit its intended target. The behemoth shot wildly at the after-images of the hedgehog always coming nowhere near to hitting him. Sonic did several spin attacks on the robot's legs hoping they might be the machine's weak spot but the blue blur's attack bounced harmlessly off. Given enough time though, he was pretty positive he could find it's weakness even if, at this point, it seemed rather indestructible. As their fight began to drag out the bad feeling Sonic had begun to subside as this was shaping up to be a classic battle with Eggman after all. Well so he thought until Eggman's voice came back over the speakers.

"What's the matter Sonic? It doesn't seem like you're making any headway against my robot."

"Hey comon Doc! Gimme some slack." Sonic replied casually in response as he continued to easily evade all the robot's sloppy attacks. "Given the number of times I've taken down your bots there was bound to be a time when you finally did it right."

Eggman laughed in response to this which unsettled Sonic slightly since the Doc was one who was always quick to anger. If he wasn't yelling at this point, he definitely still had something else up his sleeve.

"You're right Sonic." Eggman replied pleasantly enough as the 'Egg-bliterator' suddenly stopped its attacks on the hedgehog.

"It IS about time I did things right." And with that, the bot turned to its right; away from the blue blur.

_'The hell is it doing…'_ Sonic wondered for a second before realizing a few seconds too late at what the madman intended.

If he couldn't catch Sonic_…_

Then he would catch what he could_…_

The robot's left arm was raised towards an unsuspecting pink hedgehog who shook timidly in the corner under the robot's sights. Sonic sped towards Amy just as the robot fired pushing his body to its limits just barely making it in time to push to girl out of shot's way. The robot's shot however instead hit him and slammed him into the wall to his left with all the force that was put behind it. Amy rolled haplessly across the ground at begin pushed by Sonic so suddenly and instantly glanced towards the Blue Streak once she came to a halt realizing instantly what had happened.

"SONIC!"

Sonic, who had been slammed against the coliseum's wall, rolled off the dent his body had made in the metallic wall and fell to the ground with a sickening thud on his stomach. Amy's eyes widened in horror as she witnessed this and slowly began to crawl towards him. "Sonic! Sonic!"

"A-….Amy…?" Sonic uttered weakly as he slowly opened one of his eyes. "Are…Are you alright…?"

"Mhm!" Amy voiced as she continued to crawl out towards him. She began to stretch a hand out towards him as the distance between the two began to lessen.

"It's all thanks to you Sonic." Amy choked out as tears began to fill her eyes.

"…I'm glad…" Sonic replied with a weak smile as he lay helplessly on the ground with his eye beginning to close.

"Don't leave me alone Sonic!" Amy cried as she began to pick up the pace. "We'll get out here together!"

Sonic laughed softly, coughing in the process, before responding in a weak voice, "That'd be nice…."

"Yeah! You bet it will!" Amy choked out as it was her turn this time to give a reassuring smile.

Sonic smirked slightly as his hand slowly began to stretch out towards Amy causing the girl's smile to widen.

"Everything will be okay like usual, right Sonic?" Amy said optimistically as she continued to crawl towards him.

"Mhm…" Sonic voiced softly in reply.

"And we'll get out and save everyone right?"

"Like always…" Sonic replied smugly as the girl neared him.

"And…and…you'll save the day in the end right?" Continued Amy just as their fingers were about to reach.

"Ye-"

"No." Interrupted Dr. Eggman just before his robot's giant slammed its right fist downwards onto the already heavily injured hedgehog. Amy stared in horror as everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Dirt from the impact shot up everywhere but Amy was too stunned from the action to even react. Her widened eyes and shrunken pupils seemingly stared straight through the robot's metallic fist. The girl's lip trembled as she struggled to get the words through her sealed throat. She couldn't talk and she felt like she could hardly breathe. After a moment or two, she somehow found her voice and in a faint and pathetic voice softly whispered, "S-Sonic…?"

As if on cue, the robot raised its fist up revealing a beaten, battered, and bruised hedgehog lying lifelessly on the ground. Amy scrambled towards the man unsure of exactly what she could do to help. Her eyes frantically darted around with neither an aim nor a purpose. She was no doctor. Hell, she didn't even know if the blue hedgehog was even alive at this point. Reaching this thought, Amy's eyes welled up with tears as feelings of regret began to wash over her. Thoughts that should've never entered anyone's head began to fill hers and in an act of desperation...Amy screamed.

As she screamed in pain her tears began to fall onto the unmoving body of her hero. She couldn't hear Eggman's laughs that had been echoing throughout the arena. Nor could she hear the crowd's roar and cheers. She could hear none of this and instead was simply lost in the darkness of mind. Her small tiny body that remained kneeled over Sonic's body softly shook in sorrow as her tears continued to fall onto his corpse. An immeasurable number of thoughts ran through the little girl's mind until suddenly, the girl's shaking instantly stopped.

"….Pay…" Amy whispered softly as her bangs cast a dark shadow over her eyes.

"Mmmm?" Eggman voiced curiously as his cameras began to zoom in onto the female hedgehog's form.

"I said…" Amy began in an eerily calm voice as though something apparently snapped inside of her. "…That I'll make you pay for this…"

The pink hedgehog slowly struggled to rise to her feet even though she was still suffering from the shock the recent event caused her. She slowly turned around to face to giant mechanized monster that stood before her and pulling out her Piko Piko Hammer from seemingly nowhere stood ready to face it. Her bangs still hid her eyes as she slowly began to advance towards the Egg-bliterator. She wasn't sure she could do much even with her Hammer but she was going to make them pay...somehow.

"Awwwww" Eggman sung on the speakers as he watched Amy steel her resolve. "That's SO cute! But seriously... do you really think you can take down my robot let alone escape my coliseum alive?"

"..."

"Yes." Responded a voice which was suddenly followed back a giant yellow energy spear that exploded from out of the giant colossus' chest. The spear continued to fly forwards, sailing several feet above Amy's head and continuing on straight into Eggman's robotic audience. The Egg-bliterator began to quickly short circuit as it glanced down at the huge hole that was now in its chest before exploding in a huge flaming mess. The shockwave from the explosion instantly blew Amy back into the small crater that the _(now destroyed)_ robot had made. Ironically enough, had it not been there, she wouldn't have been protected from the blast. The robot's explosion lasted for but only a few seconds after which Amy poked her head up out of the small dip in which she sat. The coliseum which had once been a huge clean all dirt arena was now a mess with pieces of flaming scrap metal lying everywhere. The walls had done their jobs though as even an explosion of that magnitude hadn't destroyed them. Sure they were damaged but destoryed? No. As for the main wreckage well... it was burning a lot brighter than the smaller flames around it. As Amy stared at the carnage of the arena a small lone figure slowly came into focus. At first, Amy couldn't tell initially who was due to the distortion caused by the flames but once he came into view she couldn't restrain herself from happily yelling, "Shadow!"

"Wha! SHADOW!" Yelled the doctor in surprise over the speakers as the black hedgehog walked casually over towards Amy.

Once Sonic's body came into view of Shadow, he glanced over the hero's body before shaking his head in disgust. "Shadow…Sonic's...Sonic's..." Amy said softly trying to inform him of Sonic's condition. He paid her no heed though and moved past the girl. Stepping closer towards the fallen hero, Shadow kneeled down, picked up Sonic's limp hand, and placed two gloved fingers softly on his wrist. He didn't have time to do much else though as a certain familiar voice once again filled the stadium.

"I'd advise you choose your next move carefully Shadow." Warned the doctor prompting Shadow to glance up towards the stands as every gun in the dome was pointed at them. Shadow couldn't help but laugh at this and slowly stood up while pocketing his hand. "Oh come now Doctor...You must have me confused for some other Hedgehog." Shadow spoke confidently.

"You should know by now doctor..." Shadow spoke casually towards the good doctor as he slowly pulled out a green Chaos Emerald from out his pocket. "I'm the ultimate life form."

"KILL HIM!" The doctor screamed already knowing what was about to happen next.

It was already too late though by the time Eggman had issued the order because once he had...

They were already gone.

* * *

><p><em><span>- Somewhere In New Robotropolis -<span>_

_- Robotropolis Command Center -_

_-_Time:_ 11:50:56PM-_

"They're gone sir." Said an electronic voice that came from one of his robots that were monitoring the scene.

"I know that you idiot." Retorted Eggman wondering why all the robots he built loved to state the goddamn obvious.

"Data collection from the battle is complete." Said another robot.

"Good…" Eggman replied with a menacing smile on his face as he watched the report pop up on his monitor. "Forward this to the lab and tell them to hurry up and finish work on the prototype."

"Yes sir." Replied the same robot who went back to pounding away at his keyboard.

Damn…

And today was just Act 1.

Just wait until they got a load of the later Acts.

Oh…

He could hardly wait…


End file.
